German composer’s work wins Grawemeyer Award

A 15-minute orchestral piece written by German composer Wolfgang Rihm to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Berlin Philharmonic’s iconic concert hall has won the 2015 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition.

Rihm, 62, wrote “IN-SCHRIFT 2” as a commission for the concert hall anniversary celebration concert in October 2013 that made imaginative use of the space. The concert hall designed by Hans Scharoun was one of the first 20th century venues to feature a central stage surrounded by audience seating. He will receive $100,000.

Marc Satterwhite, a professor of composition at the School of Music and the director of the Grawemeyer music prize, called the piece contemplative and inventive in how it uses the dark sounding instruments in the orchestra — including six clarinetists and three percussionists placed in different corners of the audience area — and special writing for sound. The piece features no flutes, violins or violas.